Borna Coric vs Kevin Anderson Indian Wells 2018 QF Preview

Borna Coric will be hoping it’s fourth time lucky when he takes on Kevin Anderson in the first of the men’s quarter finals at Indian Wells. He is 0-3 and 0-7 in sets against the seventh seed including a loss at last year’s US Open. For both men, it would be a first time semi final in a Masters 1000 event with Anderson falling at this stage eight times.

Anderson had a tough fourth round to get here, beating Pablo Carreno Busta in a final set tiebreak. Having been dominant on serve throughout, he will have been disappointed for it to get that far. However, he held his nerve to take the tiebreak 8-6 after an all important minibreak at 6-6. He will be at a career high between 6 and 8 depending on how the rest of his and Juan Martin Del Potro’s tournament go.

Coric was one of the top young Next Gen stars on the men’s circuit although the attention surrounding him seems to have faded recently. He was impressive in thrashing the two Spanish seeds Albert Ramos Vinolas and Roberto Bautista Agut, dropping just 7 games over the two matches. His fourth round win over Taylor Fritz was much tougher, winning 6-2 6-7 6-4. He held his nerve to hold for 5-4 in the decider before taking the third of his break points to win the match.

Coaching changes for Coric may be responsible for some of the success Coric has had this week but he is looking long term. “There is no magic light. OK, I’m playing well here but it doesn’t mean I’m going to be Top 10 in a few months,” he said. “We need to work in three, four years to become a Top 10 tennis player, that’s my goal. If I see myself now to when I was 18 – when I was No.33 – you cannot compare the two players. I’m a much better player now.”

Prediction – Kevin Anderson in three sets

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